Wednesday 30 March 2016

Demichelis Charged by FA


Martin Demichelis has been charged by the Football Association over alleged betting offences.

The Argentine, 35, is accused of committing 12 breaches relating to matches between 22 and 28 January 2016.

Demichelis has until 17:00 BST on 5 April to respond to the charge.

However, there is no suggestion that the charge relates to any of the 25 league and cup games in which he has featured for City this season.

New rules that came into force for the 2014-15 season mean players and coaches are prevented from betting on any worldwide footballing activity.

The FA has the power to fine or suspend any person found guilty of a rule breach.

"It is alleged the player committed 12 breaches of FA Rule E8 concerning football matches between 22 January 2016 and 28 January 2016. He has until 5pm on 5 April 2016 to respond to the charge," said an FA statement:

Rule E8 states: "A Participant shall not bet, either directly or indirectly, or instruct, permit, cause or enable any person to bet on - (i) the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of, or occurrence in, a football match or competition; or (ii) any other matter concerning or related to football anywhere in the world, including, for example and without limitation, the transfer of players, employment of managers, team selection or disciplinary matters."
There is no suggestion that Demichelis was involved in match fixing nor that he bet on games in which he was involved.

Demichelis is not the first professional football player to have been charged by the FA over betting offenses.

Newcastle and England winger Andros Townsend was fined £18,000 ($26,000) and banned for four months in 2013 -- a punishment which prevented him from playing at the European Under-21 Championship.

Dan Gosling, the Bournemouth midfielder, was fined £30,000 ($43,000) after breaching the rules in March 2014 while at former club Newcastle.

The misconduct charge is the latest blow for Demichelis, whose performances and that of his fellow teammates have dipped in recent weeks, with City falling out of contention in the Premier League title race after losing a number of crucial fixtures over the past couple of months.

City manager Manuel Pellegrini, who announced he will leave the club at the end of the season last month, has presided over defeats to rivals Tottenham, Leicester and Manchester United with his team 15 points off the pace and now fighting to qualify for next season's Champions League.

Pep Guardiola, currently at Bayern Munich, will replace Pellegrini at the end of the campaign -- an announcement that was made on February 1.


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